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Thin Strom project, possibly revived, need help

9K views 18 replies 6 participants last post by  MegaStrom 
#1 · (Edited)
Thinking of reviving my thin strom project this winter. I have a couple of ideas that might work out but I'll wait until it get too cold to ride so I can justify taking my bike out of service for an extended period. That way, I won't have so many withdrawal symptoms.

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone had any diagrams of the wiring harness that feeds the front end: i.e. headlight, signals, instrument panel, etc?

I want to change from the stock frame mounted headlight to a frame mount. I have a spare wiring hareness that I can cut into for this mod. That way, if I don't like it, I can just bolt my original fairing back in place and ride on.

I've source the frame mounted replacement windshield as a Givi Universal Windshield A700. That leaves the head light and instruments. I figure I can fab up a bracket to hold the original dash from some aluminum and I'll figure something out for the signals.

But I was wondering if anyone has cut into the front wiring harness and decoded that spaghetti?
 
#2 ·
Buy a service manual.
 
#4 ·
#5 ·
Ok, it's back on again, after an extremely long wait. I just ordered a set of 43mm headlight brackets from Amazon.com as well as a simple headlight/signals bullet fairing. Not as cool as the bike craneguy showed way back when, but it'll get me stripped down and closer to naked to experience the difference without being committed to any serious body work that is irreversible.

If all goes well I'll probably be looking for a smaller front fender as well, but that'll wait, while I test this new mod.
 
#6 · (Edited)
Can't call mine a thin-strom project. I am rebuilding a wrecked Wee. Front was all toast from the steering bearings forward. I will be bolting on this light this weekend. Not as cheap as what you found but it's 60/55, DOT legal, reputable manufacturer assures good beam pattern (I hope), and it's big, which I hope will complement the fat tank.
8" Buggy Headlights - Black Stainless Steel - KC #1811
I will be doing a write-up when I get the front sorted. Here's what it looked like for the test ride. Temporary just to be legal. Doubt that helps you any, but I figured I'd throw it out there. Good luck with yours, post pix when it's ready.

Vehicle Auto part Automotive exterior Automotive lighting Tire


Vehicle Automotive tire Motor vehicle Tire Motorcycle
 
#7 ·
Can't call mine a thin-strom project. I am rebuilding a wrecked Wee. Front was all toast from the steering bearings forward. I will be bolting on this light this weekend. Not as cheap as what you found but it's 60/55, DOT legal, reputable manufacturer assures good beam pattern (I hope), and it's big, which I hope will complement the fat tank.
8" Buggy Headlights - Black Stainless Steel - KC #1811
I will be doing a write-up when I get the front sorted. Here's what it looked like for the test ride. Temporary just to be legal. Doubt that helps you any, but I figured I'd throw it out there. Good luck with yours, post pix when it's ready.

View attachment 108009

View attachment 108017
Not bad. I'm hoping for a naked look that is very minimalist. I may not be able to keep the tiny windscreen, but the investment is quite low to find out. I've been dreaming of this concept for a while.
 
#8 ·
Got bored of my 05 ninja so I made her my own. Get your hand on some old street sign and get creative. It's amazing what you can do with a hammer and pieces of wood to shape stuff

Land vehicle Vehicle Car Rim Automotive tire


Use it to fill in where the front fairings bolt in
 
#9 ·
My mount brackets arrived from Amazon and they're supposed to fit a 43mm fork tube but they're not even close. I've initiated return procedures but at $12 plus tax it hardly seems worth the trouble.

I was wondering about the galvanized chain link fence bracket used in fencing? They're cheap at $1-$1.50 each but I'll have to check the size. They don't measure them in millimeters so that's not an easy arm-chair conversion for the math challenged like me.

Lowe's has these brackets in standard galvanized as well as smooth black finish, so I'm going to be checking these out over the next few weeks. My bullet fairing won't arrive for a few weeks so I have time to be casual about researching the size.
 
#10 ·
43mm is 1.69 inches. Those 1-3/8" clamps will be a bit small and certainly allow no room to wrap rubber under them. My clamps are made from the twisted upper triple which was replaced. I cut the twisted one into thirds roughly. The middle got tossed and the two outer thirds make perfect 43 mm clamps with the bar mounts for bolting to. Solid. Got a boneyard around? ANY 43 mm triple will work since you don't care about the spread btw legs or whether it is straight. Just need each clamp to be serviceable.
 

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#11 ·
I like this idea but I'm freaked about taking the triple-tree apart. There are a few other brackets on Amazon like these but now I'm gun shy about ordering something that won't fit, AGAIN. I hate returning stuff and it slows down my project when the seller can't properly size their product. Argggg!

I had also considered simply installing another fork brace in the upper portion of the triple and use that as a "plate" for mounting.
 
#13 ·
Bentwee: I liked the TMS because I could install without disassembling the fork but it wasn't large enough. The Speedmoto product looks like I could spread them apart wide enough to avoid disassembly too, but there'd be a chance of disfiguring them if spread so wide. Still shopping, but I am intrigued by your comment of 60mm because it's been stated on here at least twice that the tubes are 43mm. I'm figuring that maybe that’s diameter and not circumference, which would a huge difference. Anyway, I have a second pair of brackets inbound and am planning on checking with Lowe's about the black chain link brackets I've mentioned previously. Thanks for your input.
 
#14 ·
I'm not saying that the upper tubes are 60mm. They ARE 43mm in diameter. But a fork brace doesn't grab the upper tubes. It grabs the LOWER tubes, the "outers" as some call them. Those are probably close to 60mm in diameter. Point is that a brace will not install on the uppers where you need to mount your fairing. Those thin ones may install more easily, but I sure wouldn't trust them to hold up a fairing, two headlights and signals. You could make your own for about $5. This was purely a temporary solution to get in a first test ride to confirm that the frame was straight and the bike was basically functional. Not pretty but you could do something similar and make it a little prettier with just a little effort. Two pieces of scrap aluminum sheet, drilled a few holes, one fold, 4 hose clamps, done. Also lets you choose the offset distance rather than having it dictated by the clamp maker. Post up some pics when you get this thing on.
 

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#15 · (Edited)
I was able to "adjust" the brackets to get them mounted and make them stay in place for a successful test ride. I've since mounted the tiny fairing that I bought from Amazon and wired the headlight into the exisiting wiring harness. This fairing is very small and my son has laugh at the results because the size of the fairing is almost comical, at least to him, but it's what I wanted in my search for the naked look. (I fried the fuel pump fuse messing around in the wiring without any electrical experience.) I haven't wired the front turn signals yet, but so few people signal their turns around here I don't believe that I'm at risk for LEO enforcement.

I'd bet I've dropped about 10#s from the front end by loosing the big fairing but I've also lost the windbreak as well. I rode to a doctor's appointment on Tuesday of this week and it was an exercising event sitting up against the wind after benefiting from the normal Strom windscreen. I like the light feeling of riding in an almost naked environment but I can't honestly say that I'm going to leave my bike this way. I'll ride it around like this for a while to see how much I like the naked feeling. Who knows; I may switch it back to stock before winter...never can tell.

I've been able to achieve the "lightened" results for about $55 and while that ain't chump change in my bank account, it's not the hundreds of dollars that some people are paying to configure a "thin-strom" either.


 
#16 ·
I've been riding this all week now and it feels like the more I ride it, the more I like it. Of course, I've only riden in town, but that's where 75% of my riding will take place these days, so....
 
#17 ·
Sorry to revive a dead thread, but what ever came of the naked Strom? Did it eventually feel right? I've stripped mine down and it's been made quite permanent. Short of a ride to fill the tank, I have no idea what it will ride like. I'm currently buttoning everything up for a first ride now, but I'd love to know what others have encountered with a nudie Strom.
 
#18 ·
Mine came to me denuded, laying in the back of a truck after a 100 mph get-off. So I have no clue what a faired one rides like. Never been on one. Mine rides like every other motorcycle I've owned - windy. I've added a cheap generic little windscreen to mine. 22K like that. It's thick with bugs so I figure to leave it there. Why is it permanent? Did you cut the little block off the head tube? I did. Lets the headlight sit in closer on mine. Got a pic?
 
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